1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable rack for storing stemmed vessels such as glassware and other containers including beverage bottles in environments such as boats and road vehicles subject to erratic motion or vibrations. More particularly, the present invention provides a glassware rack of the character described wherein individual stemmed vessels are retained against impact with one another and/or dislodgement from the rack under adverse conditions such as experienced in small craft navigating rough water or recreational vehicles traveling on rough road surfaces. The rack of the present invention also embodies combined features such as a liquor bottle security cover and other features which particularly adapt the rack to be either wall mounted or used as a self-contained bar unit or serving tray on a support surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous rack designs of both the wall-hanging and self-supporting type have been developed in the prior art for storing and supporting stemmed glassware and wine bottles or beverage containers. One common structure is that described in the Wagner U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,849 which comprises an overhead wine bottle rack with an arrangement of rails or slots for supporting stemmed wine glasses in the inverted position. U.S. Design Pat. No. 301,670 to Kennedy illustrates another type of stemmed glass storage unit wherein the glasses are inverted and the stem and base are held in a circular opening made accessible by a radial slot. UK Patent Application No. 2244205A and French Patent No. 1,127,343 show still further examples of devices for storing stemmed glassware and wine bottles utilizing a wire rack design. With the type of support structures described in these patents, the common problem is that the inverted stemmed ware is allowed to hang free, subject to possible damaging contact with one another if the support rack is jostled or impacted in any manner. The result, of course, is broken stemmed ware. Additionally, the slotted support arrangements, either the rail type as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,849 or the radial slot type shown in the other patents, provide no means to prevent accidental dislodging of the stemmed glassware if the unit is tilted or jarred.
In order to provide a more stable seating for the inverted stemmed ware, many wine glass racks utilize a socket or chamfered edge around the circular hole which holds the base of the stemmed glass. The following listed patents show examples of this configuration:
Patentee U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,893 Morris 4,546,883 Youngdale Foreign Patent UK8986 Morrison et al
The chamfered opening configuration adds a certain amount of stability to the inverted stemware and improves the seating of the base of the glass against the retention opening. The use of radial slots providing access to the openings in the holder, however, permits accidental removal of the stemmed ware from the slots. While the Youngdale U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,883 provides individual enclosures or dividers between the inverted stemmed ware for shipping purposes, during normal use the glasses are allowed to freely swing with the possibility of breakage. The British Patent No. 8986 seeks to solve the problem by providing a second set of openings c which surround the glasses to prevent contact.
Another attempt at stabilizing the base-held stemmed glass units in a rack is shown in the Unsworth U.S. Pat. No. 3,171,544. This concept involves the use of a slot for admitting the base of the stemmed glass and a cushion like substance with a backup film layer which bears against the bottoms of the individual glasses to hold them in place. This approach however does not serve to isolate the glasses and prevent damaging contact in the event of any rough handling of the rack.
The following listed patents are offered as examples of serving tray structures which are designed to hold food and beverage glasses and/or containers:
 U.S. Pat. No. Patentee 285,386 Burton 1,996,300 Lindsay 2,080,865 Lassiter 2,540,392 Haskell 4,947,991 Snell
U.S. Pat. No. 1,996,300 to Lindsay and U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,392 to Haskell show devices for securing food or beverage containers to the tray structure in a storage mode. None of these devices, however, are designed for hanging inverted stemmed glassware.
None of the prior art patents discussed address the problem of stabilizing inverted stemmed glassware in an environment, such as mobile campers and trailers or marine vessels, wherein the rack is likely to be frequently jostled or tilted. In this environment, the stemmed glasses not only swing and contact each other causing breakage but are susceptible to being jarred out of their retention sockets because of the open radial access slots.